Strong earthquake kills 94, injures over 1,000 in China (PHOTOS)

Local resident Yang Suxia (front R) reacts as she stands beside her house badly damaged by an earthquake the day before in Meichuan township in Dingxi, in northwest China's Gansu province on July 23, 2013. (AFP Photo/Wang Zhao) / AFP

The death toll from the earthquake that hit China's northwest Gansu Province has risen to 94, Xinhua News Agency reported; 1,001 people have been injured. Local authorities continue to search for victims of the 6.6 magnitude quake.

The initial tremor happened at around 23:45 GMT on Sunday and
reportedly lasted for over a minute. The Chinese seismological
bureau initially measured the quake at magnitude 6.6. The first
tremor was followed by a series of quakes, including a magnitude
5.6 jolt at 01:12 GMT.

The quake hit near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province, one of
the least populated in the whole country. However, the Dingxi
area has a great concentration of farms and towns. The earthquake
was also felt in neighboring cities of Longnan, Tianshui, and the
provincial capital city of Lanzhou.

The tremor caused the collapse of or severe damage to 127,000
homes, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said on its website, citing
statistics gathered as of 2pm local time Tuesday. Some 31,600
moved to temporary shelters, the provincial earthquake
administration.

The China Earthquake Administration is closely monitoring the
seismic situation in the region and has sent disaster relief
teams to the scene.

Authorities dispatched troops, police officers and local militia
to the affected area to assist in rescue operations, reports
Xinhua news agency.

On April 20 this year, China was struck by the worst earthquake
in three years that killed at least 157 people and left around
5,700 injured, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The
magnitude 6.6 quake shook a remote mountainous area of
south-western China's Sichuan province, close to where an
earthquake killed almost 70,000 people in 2008.